next door || nct. chensung

[ 26 ]

>> continuation from chapter 25

[ 3rd person pov ]

as chenle held the weak boy in his arms, he looked towards the stone that looked lonely, without flowers.

"mrs park, i'm chenle. jisung has told me so many incredible things about you. i heard your soy bean stew was jisung's favourite," chenle smiled as jisung slowly stopped crying and lifted his head. "thank you for having jisung, he was like a gift in my life. i've never been more thankful to have a person like him in my life. i hope you're doing well, mrs park. and don't worry, jisung is in good hands with me and my brother, he will stay safe and healthy, i'll make sure of that." as chenle said this, he smiled at jisung and jisung returned it and mouthed the words, thank you.

♣️

after maybe 1 or 2 hours of talking to jisung's mother, the two sat down on a bench beside the bus stop, waiting for sicheng to arrive as he asked where they were before to pick them up.

"your mother was really brave, that she went for a major operation, you know that, right?" chenle said as he played with jisung's fingers. jisung nodded in response as he used his sleeve on the other hand to wipe his tears at the brim of his eyelids. "you're not blaming yourself she couldn't make it, right?" chenle asked softly, internally denying that fact.

"if i had a stable job, i could've paid the bill a month earlier. she wouldn't have had to endure the pain for an extra month and she wouldn't have had gotten worse in that month. if i wasn't so under-qualified, i could've gotten a job so much more earlier. then, i would've had more money to buy medicine, supplements for her. if i-" jisung said but chenle cut jisung off, "stop with the ifs, jisung. it wasn't your fault, don't blame yourself for something that you couldn't control. we can mourn and grief, but after that life moves on and so do we. so, don't be sad for too long because happier stuff await us." jisung nodded at chenle's words as a few drops of tears fell onto jisung's lap. "now, don't be sad, i'll ask ge to treat us to something nice, alright?" chenle suggested, in attempt to cheer jisung up.

and it worked, jisung chuckled and turned to his side to engulf chenle in a hug. chenle hugged him back as they held each other in their arms, until they heard a soft "honk" from behind. they turned around and say sicheng in the drivers seat. they walked towards the unfamiliar car as they sat in the backseat.

"hyung, since when you had a car?" jisung asked as they buckled their seatbelts in.

"this is yuta's, he lent it to me when i told him i was going to pick you guys up," sicheng explained as he started the engine and set off. "i'll treat you guys today, let's go!" he said enthusiastically. they left the place, as hues of pink and orange filled the sky. they looked out the window, as their eyes explored the painting-like scenery that hovered over them.

as they entered the city, far from the cold mountainous area, jisung's eyes travelled to chenle. he took the chance while chenle was asleep to admire each of his features. from his lashes that lay along his eyes, to his cheeks that show he's eating healthily. he couldn't help but stare at the phenomenal beauty that was beside him. "pretty," he thought to himself as he smiled. as he continued to do what he was doing, chenle shifted in his seat and his eyes started to open slowly.

"are... are we there yet?" chenle asked impatiently as he opened his arms into a stretch. jisung looked away, flustered, replying chenle softly, "not yet." he continued to look outside the window, slightly embarrassed by what he has done just now, though it was only minor. he smiled to himself, shades of red covering his cheeks.

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wow okay,, this book is ending in the next chapter????? also thinking about publishing a skz book